After Qin Ci finished explaining, he didn't receive the expected barrage of questions, curses, and panic typical of newcomers. The handsome man and beautiful woman were incredibly calm, even nodding and smiling, indicating they understood.
Everyone: ?
Qin Ci suspected he'd just told a fairy tale, so to be on the safe side, he solemnly reiterated, "Please believe me, everything I've said is true. This is a matter of life and death, so please don't be careless."
"Okay, we understand," the handsome man and beautiful woman continued to nod and smile.
Everyone: ? ?
Qin Ci didn't know what else to say. These two didn't seem to be taking it seriously, so he proceeded to the next step: "Then let's get to know each other first."
He introduced the names of the veteran members and then looked at the two women.
The beautiful woman was very generous, her gaze sweeping over everyone as she smiled and said, "Hello everyone, I'm Dong Yao. I'm very happy to be here and spend these unforgettable and wonderful seven days with you all. I hope we can work together happily from now on!" Everyone
: ...? ? ?
The man then spoke, his voice soothing and pleasant: "Hello everyone, I'm Qi Muhuan. Please take good care of me, brothers and sisters..."
Everyone: ?! ?!
"What's going on..." Ke Xun turned to look at Mu Yiran, "Why are they so happy?"
Mu Yiran was about to speak when Wei Dong next to her lowered his voice and said, "This Dong Yao... I feel like she looks familiar. Why does she seem like an actress?"
"Brother Dong, you're right," Luo Yi also secretly chimed in, "She is an actress. In the last year or two, she seems to have risen to a second-tier status. Before she was famous, she wanted to hook up with a rich guy to get ahead. One of my dad's business partners sponsored her for over a year, spending money to get her acting roles. Gradually, she made a name for herself. Recently, I heard that she hooked up with an even more powerful tycoon, who is even more willing to spend money to pull strings for her. Her schedule is packed with gigs, big and small."
"Yes, yes, that's her," Wei Dong also remembered, "I saw her in a pretty R-rated movie, that's why she looked so familiar."
Ke Xun: "…"
Luo Jin: "She didn't just rely on selling her body to get famous before she became famous."
Wei Dong: "And this Qi Muhuan, he seems to be a rising young idol who's gained some popularity recently."
Luo Jin: "Yeah, he acted in a fantasy drama that was quite popular, but unfortunately he was only the fourth male lead. He only gained popularity by having rumors with his female co-stars."
Wei Dong: "…Luo Jin is still young, he doesn't know much about the entertainment industry." "I know it all by heart."
Luo Cheng: "Who told me to always get dragged by my dad to dinners with big shots? Those old guys love to brag about their affairs with celebrities after they've had their fill of food and drink. I even know that Dong Yao has slept with several directors."
Ke Xun: "...Let's not talk about that kind of boring entertainment gossip right now."
Wei Dong: "I've also heard that Qi Muhuan has slept with male directors."
Ke Xun: "Oh? Tell me about it."
Luo Cheng and Wei Dong: "..."
The three of them were whispering among themselves, while Dong Yao and Qi Muhuan were looking around the room.
Dong Yao: "Wow, this room is so simple, it's a bit unexpected."
Qi Muhuan: "Sometimes the simplest things are the most complicated. Sister Yao, you'd better watch out later."
Dong Yao: "Oh my god, don't scare me, Muhuan. I'm starting to regret it. I shouldn't have agreed to come here with the director. Is it too late to back out now?"
Qi Muhuan: "Don't even think about it. Once you're on this pirate ship, there's no getting off."
Dong Yao: "Ah... how could this happen..."
The two of them laughed as they talked.
Everyone: "..."
"What the hell is going on?" Ke Xun scratched his head. "Why are these two talking and acting so affectedly? Are they still living in a play?"
Wei Dong thought for a moment: "Maybe they've been acting too much and can't distinguish between acting and reality."
"But their emotions are clearly off," Ke Xun said. "Is this normal? After hearing about Ru Hua, they're not scared at all, and they're even joking around so easily."
As they were talking, a white light suddenly appeared in the room again. When everyone opened their eyes again, they saw two more people in the room, two young girls in their early twenties. The two were entangled in a struggle, pulling and tugging at each other. When they realized that everyone in the room was looking at them, they were stunned and slowly let go.
"Who are you?" the one with long hair asked warily.
The older members turned to look at Qin Ci, but Qin Ci pretended not to see their gazes.
Explaining things was also tiring, so Qin Ci decided to wait until the last person came in before explaining everything together.
Dong Yao, standing nearby, wanted to speak, but after glancing at Qin Ci, she seemed to remember something and fell silent.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, the girl with long hair turned her gaze back to the long-haired girl who had entered with her: "I'm telling you, this isn't over! You're not leaving until you explain yourself clearly! I'm going to stay here with you!"
"You're the one who needs to explain!" the long-haired girl retorted, "Are you kidding me?! What's it to you if my boyfriend and I are together? Where did you come from?! Are you a stalker?!"
The two girls started arguing fiercely.
Everyone: "..." This time, the newlyweds' demeanor was really strange...
Just as they were arguing, the white light in the room flickered on again. When the light disappeared, the last person to enter the room appeared—a young man in his twenties, with a fairly decent appearance, holding two cups of hot coffee.
Upon seeing him enter, the two girls immediately stopped arguing and shouted at him in unison, "Deng Lin! Tell me, who is this woman?!"
Deng Lin was startled, then shocked, and turned to walk back, only to bump into the wall and stumble back two steps. The two girls caught up with him, grabbing him from either side, pointing at each other, and continuing to question him, "Who is she?! Why is she following you?!"
Deng Lin remained silent, his eyes darting left and right.
Wei Dong: "Oh no, they've caught three people cheating!"
Luo Yi: "This guy doesn't look like a good person at all."
Ke Xun: "Heh, men."
Wei Dong and Luo Yi: "..."
"We can't let them keep arguing, we're pressed for time," Shao Ling said, stepping forward to the three newlyweds who were currently arguing. "Please pause for a moment, I have something to say."
The two girls looked at him suspiciously. Deng Lin took the opportunity to step aside, but Shao Ling ignored him and simply said, "Now, please think back, before entering this room, didn't you enter an exhibition hall?"
"So what if we did?" The girl with long hair looked at him warily, seemingly thinking that he was with the girl with long hair and had appeared to support her.
"Then why are you three in this room right now?" Shao Ling guided the three to recall.
"I didn't notice," the girl with long hair said bluntly, pointing at the girl with long hair. "I was busy catching them cheating, I didn't have time for anything else!"
"Don't talk so rudely!" the girl with long hair retorted. "What do you mean by catching them cheating? Deng Lin is my boyfriend!"
"Bullshit!" the girl with long hair retorted angrily. "We started dating last year! Where did you come from? You're interfering in someone else's relationship and you still have the nerve to act so self-righteous?!
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Shao Ling raised his voice: "I know everything about what happened between Deng Lin and the two of you. If you want to know, shut your mouths and listen to me. You'll understand who's right and wrong later."
The girl with long hair suppressed her anger and turned to stare at him: "Then tell me."
Shao Ling then recounted the entire story of Ru Hua to the three of them, concluding: "This sounds bizarre, but it really happened. So, for all of us right now, the most important thing is how to get out of here alive. All the petty grudges and affections between the three of you can be settled after we leave the painting. But don't waste our time now, or yours. The less time we have, the less chance we have of survival."
The girl with long hair and the girl with long hair looked at him as if he were crazy, until the girl with long hair actually said, "Are you crazy?"
"Whether I'm insane or not can be proven by one thing," Shao Ling said, pointing around the room. "As long as you can leave, you're free to do as you please."
The two girls and Deng Lin instinctively looked around, then gasped in surprise. Deng Lin walked to a wall, pushed it, and knocked on it before turning back to Shao Ling in shock: "What's going on? Why are there no doors or windows in this room? How did you get in? How did we get in?"
"I've already explained the reason. Time is of the essence. You can take your time to process this, but if you continue this endless arguing, then please forgive my irresponsibility, but we have neither the time nor the obligation to take care of you anymore, nor do we want to be a burden. We will proceed according to our own pace and plan. If you lose your lives because you refuse to cooperate, you can only blame yourselves."
Although Shao Ling's words were cold, they were the only effective method at the moment. The three girls, though still incredulous, at least stopped arguing and instead looked around the room and its inhabitants with disbelief and a hint of panic.
Not far from Dong Yao, Ke Xun overheard her whispering to Qi Muhuan, "I didn't expect it to be for real. These people really don't know the truth."
Qi Muhuan nodded slightly, "That's why people are watching."
Ke Xun glanced over and noticed that both of them covered their collars with their hands while speaking, then released them afterward, revealing what looked like small microphones.
Their behavior was indeed a bit strange.
Seeing that the five newcomers had finally gathered and, unusually, quieted down, the veteran members didn't waste any more time. They straightened up and looked around the room, waiting for the painting to reveal its true nature.
Author's Note:
Qin Ci: Seriously introducing the rules of the painting…
Wei Dong Luo Yi: Seriously playing a supporting role…
Author: Seriously arranging the newcomers' backgrounds and character settings…
Readers: Seriously waiting for you to get to the point…